How To Start A Blog

In this post I’m going to be sharing with you how to start a blog from scratch.. I’ll also be sharing with you my tips on how to make money from blogging, how to build your email list, how to choose an email opt in and how to build trust with your audience

This post contains affiliate links which means if you sign up for one of these services, I’ll get a commission for helping you start your blog, at no extra cost to you.

Before you start a blog

Step 1: choose the perfect blog name

Before you dive in and set up your blog, you need to choose your blog name. Think about the impression you want to leave when people read, hear and speak your name. Choosing your name is one of the most important steps to creating your blog.

You want your blog name to be:

• Catchy
• Easy to remember
• Easy to spell
• Relate to you or your niche

Things to check:

• Check your blog name doesn’t spell anything negative in the URL e.g. https://thosepositivethoughts.com
• Check your blog name is available on all social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube etc.)

Once you have chosen and are happy with your blog name, do a quick Google search to check that on one else has this name.

How to set up your blog

Step 1: Choose your blogging platform

Why you SHOULD have a self-hosted blog

When you set up your blog you have the choice between a self-hosted blog or a free blog. I will always recommend having a self-hosted blog especially if you want to create a professional image. With a self-hosted blog you will have full control over your blog such as the layout, changing the theme, installing plugins and adding advertisements. With a free blog you are very limited with what you can change, you will also have “WordPress” or “Blogger” in your domain name. Most importantly, if you ever want to earn any money from your blog (which I’m sure you do) then it’s important that you have a self-hosted blog.  Brands will also be more keen to collaborate with you if your blog is self-hosted as they will take you and your blog more seriously.

Choosing your blogging platform

There are a number of platforms which you can choose from to start a blog, such as WordPress, Wix and Squarespace. I have been using WordPress  since the start of Those Positive Thoughts and I’m very happy with how easy it is to use!

Why I recommend WordPress

I would highly recommend using WordPress as your blogging platform as it’s extremely easy and simple to use. It’s also the most popular blogging platform which means there are thousands of free guides, videos, and resources out there to help you along the way, which also means you will never have to hire somebody to help you! As WordPress is such a popular platform, there are tones of beautiful blog themes which you can choose from, which means you can really make your blog unique and stand out amongst the crowd. There are also lots of free plugins which you can easily install with WordPress, to make your blog even more unique and beautiful!

Step 2: Choose your hosting platform

Choosing the right hosting site for your blog is super important as it can improve your SEO and increase traffic to your blog. There are a number of different types of WordPress hosting options available however I highly recommend SiteGround which is the hosting service I currently use.

SiteGround

SiteGround is a fantastic hosting option and is the hosting company I am currently with. SiteGround have amazing customer support, and I personally have had a great experience with them. SiteGround offers hosting from  $3.95/month by just pre-paying for 12 months (instead of 36 months like with Bluehost). Your first payment to get up and running is only $47.40 and there are no other surprise setup charges.

Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the most popular hosting solutions when starting a new self-hosted WordPress blog. They were the very first hosting company I ever used and I picked Bluehost because it was one of the recommended hosts for WordPress. Bluehost basic accounts start at $2.75/month if you prepay for 36 months, and for a few extra dollars per month you can get a “plus” account. The best thing about the plus account is that a single account can host an unlimited number of WordPress blogs, if you ever get the urge to start a second blog.

Step 3: Set up your social accounts

Now that you have chosen and bought your domain name, set up your social accounts with your chosen name. It’s best to do this step straight after you have bought your domain to make sure you get the account name you want.

Step 4: Set up Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the industry standard for website and blog traffic reporting. It’s super easy and free to set up and will only take a couple of minutes. Google Analytics is simply amazing! Through it you can track things like:

• How many visitors your blog has received (daily, weekly, monthly etc.)
• Which pages are the most popular
• How people find your blog
• How long people stay on your blog for
• Which device people use to view your blog

Don’t skip this step! Google Analytics is necessary start tracking your page-views and progress from the very start. Plus, it’s very useful to know when you are building and growing your brand. You can create a Google Analytics account with your Gmail login information

Customise your blog

Step 1: Choose a blog theme

When you are just starting your blog and you don’t want to invest too much money into it yet, you can choose a free theme. For the first year and a half of blogging I used a theme called Nuclear Child which is a free theme from WordPress. I simply spent some time editing it and adding plugins. I now have a theme form Pix and Hue which I’ve paid for.

Step 2: Take professional photos or use free stock images

To create a successful blog you need to have a lot of skills, one being photography. When you first start your blog you can use free stock images until you decide to create your own photos. Some of my favourite websites to get free stock images from are:

• Unsplash
• Pexels
• Pixabay

I used free stock images when I was first started my blog and while I was developing it, but I then decided to use my own photos. I felt like the free stock images were really handy when you first start your blog but I noticed that the images I was using were also being used on loads of other blogs. This meant that my blog didn’t stand out and I really wanted my blog to be unique and represent myself and my brand.

Add necessary site pages

Before your official “launch,” and before you start posting regularly, you need to create a few specific pages on your site.

Step 1: Disclosure, privacy and comment policy

If you ever want to earn money from your blog, it’s necessary to include a disclosure, privacy and comment policy on your site. You can check out my disclosure page as an example.

Step 2: Write an amazing about me page

Your about me page is the most important page on your blog because it’s where people go to find out about you and your blog. Spend some time writing about yourself and about your blog, you could include the reason why you started your blog and the purpose behind it. You can check out my about page here.

Step 4: Write your contact me page

Another very important page is your contact page. This is how brands will contact you for potential collaboration ideas, it’s how other bloggers will reach out to you and it’s how readers can ask you questions. On WordPress you can easily add a contact form to your page. It’s also a good idea to set up a professional email address for your blog, for example mine is laura@thosepositivethoughts.com. By setting up an email address for your blog, you will look like a professional and you can keep your personal and blogging emails separate.

Step 5: Publish your first blog post

It’s a good idea to publish your first blog post on the same day you set up your blog, this will keep you feeling motivated and excited! When I first launched Those Positive Thoughts, I published four blog posts, one for each of my categories. I then had several blog posts in my drafts, this meant I had time to develop my website and still schedule blog posts every week.

How can I earn money from my blog?

I currently earn money blogging using the following methods:

• Adverts
• Planners which I sell on Amazon
• Etsy shop
• Affiliate marketing

Other ways you can earn money from your blog are:

• Group coaching
• 1-1 coaching
• Membership hub – monthly fee to have exclusive access to printable’s, courses, e-books, Facebook community’s
• Tangible products such as a book or a planner
• Webinar – online class where students pay for you to teach them on particular topic

How can I build up trust with my audience?

Trust takes time and the best way to build that trust with your audience is to be consistent and to be real. Be consistent with your content, if you can only share one blog post per week, then stick to that schedule. Don’t share one post one month and then share 10 the next. Consistency means your audience knows what to expect from you and when to expect it from you. It also means that you can create a blogging schedule, making life easier for yourself.

The next thing I would suggest when building up trust with your audience is to be real. You don’t need to be an expert for your audience to trust you, you just need to be one or two steps ahead of them. When you are real your audience will trust you and want to listen to your stories and your advice.

What type of opt-in should I create?

If you want to grow your blog, then it’s a good idea to create an opt-in for your email list. There are a couple of different opt-in you can create, you can either create a free resource library, which has a variety of different workbooks, PDFs and e-books for your readers, each acting as an add-on to your popular blog posts. Another option is to have one opt-in your readers can gain access to once they subscribe to your email list.

Do you want to start a blog? Leave any questions below!